Our team took 2nd (again!) in the UNM USSC Corporate Cup - but the banquet is always nice and great way to applaud the scholar athletes on the UNM ski team.

Elise and I took the railrunner up to Santa Fe and did a nice 35 mile bike loop around town and explored Meow Wolf - an interactive art piece that left us guessing for hours.

I gave a talk at Brookhaven NL and luckily got a free Saturday morning to explore Fire Island off Long Island. The lighthouse was a great backdrop to my walk on the beach.

I also made a work trip to Atlanta to try to drum up collaborative smart grid research projects with Georgia Tech; but I also got a great Vortex burger and revisited Rocky Mountain Pizza and a couple bars in Little 5. Gotta say that I don't miss Atlanta all that much.

October is a good time in Albuquerque because the weather is good and it's a good rest break between climbing/bikig season and skiing season. On Oct 4th, I biked out the the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta with some nob hill friends, including Kelley, Mike, Mike, Allison, Ben, Luke, Louie. The chilly ride was worth it to kick off the week long balloon fiesta in style.

That evening was the AMRC brewfest. I volunteered to man the silent auction and pack up gear - but still had plenty of time to socialize and try the Trident's Spirit Ale.

The following weekend Paul and Pearl visited. We headed out to the balloon fiesta for the mass ascension and the night glow. Leigh stopped over for some BBQing Saturday night, and we hiked around on the Sandia Crest Trail past the Kawanis Cabin. It was good to see my old Boulder friends again! The last time I saw them was at their wedding in VT a year ago.

I celebrated by birthday by biking up to the Four Hills rocks with Josiah and Leigh for the sunset and then heading down to Tractor for a couple beers. I also released a list of things that I would like to accomplish before I turn 30. It's ambitious - perhaps impossible - but why not set sights high. Here we go!

1. Ski Mt. Rainier.2. Scuba dive a tropical reef.3. Eat an amazing steak in Argentina. 4. Buy fat skis, shred pow, and huck a 10+ footer.5. Bike 3,000 miles with 50,000 ft of elevation gain. 6. Climb South Maroon Peak via the Bell Cord. (Bonus points for Pyramid Peak.)7. Mountain bike 20 miles at night.8. Climb a high alpine route to a major summit (e.g., Ellingwood Ledges, Grand Teton).9. Take a train from Oslo to the Norwegian fjords.10. Become a technician on Albuquerque Mountain Rescue. (Bonus points for relearning WFR skills with a ride-along with Albuquerque Fire Department.)11. Spend a week at burning man.12. Go hot air ballooning.13. Ski every named run at Taos.14. Mountaineer in the southern hemisphere (e.g., Aconcagua, Cotopaxi, …)15. Watch a U.S. soccer game at the world cup in Brazil.16. Eat curry in India without getting sick.17. Gamble in Vegas.18. Heli-ski in South America.19. Raft the Taos Box.20. Attend an epic music festival (Tomorrowland?).21. Ski Vallee Blanche from Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix. (Super bonus: do full Haute Route!)22. Brew a tasty ale while drinking a tasty beer.23. Canyoneer in Utah with a 100+ ft rappel. 24. Create a video of time lapse photography.25. Party with a shot luge. 26. Climb a multi-pitch ice or mixed route.27. Get a ski race suit and take home NASTAR gold.28. Chase animals around the African savanna.29. Backpack in the Canadian Rockies, e.g., Banff.30. Get a couple more house plants.

The Vail ski trip included the sad news that on Friday my friend Carlos died in a climbing accident in the Sandias. The team was sent out to recover one of their own - surely a heavy task for everyone involved. I will remember Carlos as a true free-spirit and joyous person. He always had a beaming smile and I cry every time I think of him doing handstands and playing with Arthur back at the Wyoming cache. Rest in peace my friend.

I got to go on my first AMRC mission on Sunday. 18 year old male broke leg up from Embudo TH. I led Team 3 and set up and ran the first low angle lower. Great team response and the patient was out in 2 hours!

The most interesting statement from the 3 day class was about why we can't find intelligent life in the vast cosmos. The answer: because as soon as life reaches a certain level of intelligence, the species has the ability to wield too much power in order to fight for the limited resources, and destroys itself. Intelligent life is self-extinguishing.